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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 19, 2011 10:30:59 GMT -5
"Good job." Dusty gave a nod of approval. Iphie had taken most of te scene into account and had devised some clever theories best on the evidence at hand. The detective grinned.
"Alright! Well, you just keep looking at things like that and you'll stay on the right track. Just remember to get a good look around you before a fight. Stall, if ya need to. And never be afraid to chat some folks up. Get 'em yappin' and you'll notice a lot of things." she said, "Now then, on to the meat 'n potatoes of today's lesson! Get that sheild ready, you'll be usin' it like a pro in no time!"
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Post by iphigenia on Jan 20, 2011 1:55:53 GMT -5
"A pro? Don't you just, sort of, hold it in front of whatever is coming at you?" Iphie asked. She waved it around a bit. "I mean, it is rather large around the edges so it even the sides cover me really well." She tried to think of how else a shield could be used that would need training. "Oh, do you mean hitting things? The lady who made it said I could hit people with it like a sword but it isn't sharp." She ran her right hand over the top of it. "Doesn't matter to me though, I've used sticks and this is metal."
Toph had a metal stick, she remembered fetching it for her from the snow a long while ago. It had been awhile since they had spoken, she really hoped that she hadn't scared her friend away with the sudden intrusion. She really ought to make it up to her.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 20, 2011 10:28:15 GMT -5
"It ain't all about blocking and smashing." Dusty said, "Though, those ain't bad in a fight. But, sometimes ya gotta have a little more in the way of finnesse. Even with that big ol' thing. You can use that shield to keep your enemy off balance, work your way into finding an opening, hell, even making one."
She grabbed one of the practice swords. "Now, I'm gonna whack at ya. You just block me. Ready?" she grinned as she tool a couple of one handed practice swings.
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Post by iphigenia on Jan 26, 2011 21:34:38 GMT -5
Iphie certainly wasn't feeling thrilled at the idea of being hit with a stick, even if the shield was there to protect her. She didn't think that the practice sword would hurt even if it did hurt her anyway but there was still the apprehension. She held up the shield, looking at the back of it for a second before replying. "Alright, I'll do my best, come at whenever." She immediately braced for the first strike she was sure would hit instantly.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 27, 2011 0:26:50 GMT -5
"Alright, here we go!" Dusty said and attacked. If Iphie was to learn anything today, it would be how a shield felt when it was under duress. But it would be better to learn on the practice field than on the battle field.
Her first swing was a hard shot. She brought it down with as much force as she could generate. There was a loud clang. Dusty continued to swing at the shield. At first, it was simple, front on attacks. Those were followed by slightly more complex manuevers. At the moment, Dusty was feeling Iphie. She wanted to see just how comfortable the ex-cultist was with the heavy shield.
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Post by iphigenia on Feb 11, 2011 17:41:33 GMT -5
Iphie kept up the blocking, though she had a bit of trouble reading all of Dusty's moves she could see enough that the large shield compensated for her lack of timing. Though as the attacks continued to rain down, Iphie began to feel a lot more comfortable. She loosened up, her movements became a little quicker, she tried to do more than just block with the shield, some movement so that blows that would have hit the center of the shield could be deflected off the side. She was enjoying herself again.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Feb 11, 2011 23:36:23 GMT -5
With a slight smirk, Dusty kept up her "attack". She kept switching things up, noting how Iphie was easing into using the shield. It seemed that she was a natural. Dusty was enjoying the practice she was getting. It was a bit of a review, for some of the more basic tactics. Plus, it was nice to not have an opponent that was actually trying to seperate her head from her body.
"Keep it up!" she encouraged.
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Post by iphigenia on Feb 20, 2011 15:19:29 GMT -5
Iphie did keep it up, she found the whole thing becoming simpler as time went on. Feeling a bit clever, she simply dodged some blows entirely. Sure it might get harder once she had to fight back with her own sword but even after all this she was not tired, though she wondered if Dusty might need a short break since she was doing the hard work attacking.
"Hey Dusty, can we take a short rest, for water and stuff." She smiled at the other woman from behind the large shield.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Feb 20, 2011 16:39:12 GMT -5
Dusty kept her pace. She was still in good condition. Years of training had seen to that. Still, a break was always welcomed. There was a tingling feeling in her arm, the force of the repeated blows to the shield had the tendancy to reverberate up her arm. Dusty switched her wooden weapon to her opposite hand and flexed her arm.
"A break it is!" she said. From her jacket she produced a standard issue canteen. After a quick gulp she offered it to Iphie.
"Not a bad job." Dusty evaluated, "You took real quick to that shield. Oughtta be able ta use it like a pro, in no time."
After the canteen's handoff, Dusty dropped to the ground and took a seat. The wooden sword was laying next to her as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
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Post by iphigenia on Feb 20, 2011 17:35:45 GMT -5
Iphie took the canteen and had a sip before taking the extra precaution of the nozzle and handing it back. "Thanks, it's mostly thanks to you though. I'd have probably figured it out on my own but nowhere near this effectively this quickly." She smiled at Dusty and leaned on the shield. Her hand lightly rubbed the rounded edges.
"Hey Dusty, do you mind if I asked you a question? I was just wondering, what brought you into the investigating business? Though if you don't want to say you needn't."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Feb 20, 2011 18:15:14 GMT -5
With the canteen in her hands once more, Dusty gulped down another swig. She looked and gave a half grin. "Ain't a problem." she said, "Not that there's any real deep meanin' to it. I just like helpin' people. An' with all this trainin' I done went through, I figure detective work's the best way ta go 'bout doin that. Ain't no real need for detective's back home. So, I mosied on up here, to a nice big city like this'un an' set up shop! Business' been goin' good."
She shrugged her shoulders and passed the canteen back to Iphie, "'Course no business ain't without snags. I got one at a dead end...but I ain't officially been hired for that'un. Still. The sooner I get that figured out, the better off I'll be. 'Cuz damn, if it ain't one a the most troublin' things I come across."
Getting up to one knee, she leaned towards Iphie, lowering her voice, "It ain't fer lack a tryin', neither. There's folks 'round here who're making sure I ain't getting all the pieces o' this lil' puzzle. An' I am takin' none too kindly to their efforts."
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Post by iphigenia on Mar 2, 2011 20:32:48 GMT -5
"Well, if you need any heavy lifting or something feel free to let me know. I haven't got the brains for riddles and mysteries as fun as they are but I'd like to help where I can." Sure she could strategize well enough, that had been taught to her long ago, but mostly it was just killing people the fastest way or finding a way out quick as possible with as little fuss. Though considering she could probably walk through an iron wall with little effort, Iphie wasn't exactly sure how to define a little fuss. Her fingers absentmindedly twirled the shield in the dirt as her mind thought of ways to help.
"Can't say I'd be good for much else really unless you needed something broken. I'm sure no intimidation tactic, you saw what I had to do just to get that bouncer job and to be honest I don't particularly enjoy wearing so many things at once."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Mar 2, 2011 21:13:37 GMT -5
"Haha, that ya ain't." she chuckled, "But I'll keep ya in mind when I need ta bust some heads. Which, believe you me, I'm gonna enjoy plenty! Got a lotta frustration I aim ta tale out on the fellas behind this whole thing."
Dusty stretched her legs out as she leaned back on her elbows. A few of the guards wandered off, either for some downtime or to return to their posts. The cat, meanwhile had gone a search for scraps.
"Ya know there ain't much to solvin' some of these puzzles. It's all about keeping your eyes open to the facts sittin' right in front of ya." she went on, "Aint nothin' you'll pick up in one go, but you just keep at it. Hell, by the time I'm done with ya, you'll be givin' the Magistrates back in the Canyon a run fer their money!"
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Post by iphigenia on Mar 2, 2011 23:02:18 GMT -5
Iphie had heard the word before but wasn't sure what it meant. "The who?" She assumed they were some sort of leaders of the group. Probably did the same thing the elders had back before she came here. She didn't like the elders much, most of the brothers ignored her but that was prime recognition compared to the elders. Even when she was in the same room with them they would never acknowledge her or even give her direct orders. She tried to forget about it, banish these sudden thoughts from her mind with a shake of her head.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Mar 4, 2011 23:44:39 GMT -5
"The Magistrates..." Dusty repeated, "Ah, yeah. You folks probably don't got 'up here. They're kinda like the City Watch. 'Cept we got 'em structured different."
Dusty had gotten a bit carried away in her little pep talk. Naturally, not many people knew about the Magistrates. It had just been too long since anyone from the Golden Canyon had traveled beyond the border.
"Law and order. It's what we mostly try'n take care of." Dusty went on, "'Course, nowa days, they see fit to shove us to the front lines. Needed brighter grunts, I guess. That whole damn war just went an' made a mess o'things."
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